What comics are you reading now?

[Zhuge1]

I'm trying Monstress from Image, starting next week. My wife actually went and ordered these for her.
It has been a 8 year struggle to get her to read some damn comics, she tried Harbinger (she loved the Bleeding Monk #0), and some more random stuff, like East of West, but this is the first series she's really hyped for.

I've managed to get my wife to read a few. She likes Quantum and Woody and is halfway through the current VEI run. She was also a big fan of the graphic novel Persepolis and wants to read the other stuff from that author.

I've now finished the Star Wars Darth Vader series and the first six issue arc of Saga (which I found quite good). After reading Hulk: Gray, I picked up Daredevil: Yellow and am halfway through it.

[The Dirt Gang]

I don't agree with Dunlow on everything, but I'm with him on Liefeld.

Then I guess you're on my s***list too, Jeremy.

I "kinda" get that peeps who were born after 1980 might like the guys work: at the time he was a star, you would probably be like 11/12? Thats the age where "bewbs" and "lots of guns" seem cool. I get that.
When I was that age I was drooling over Perez' Starfire and Byrne's Storm, I was really spoiled on that pre-teen period as a reader.

On a more serious side, Cable, now a movie character:
worst *SQUEE* I ever saw when I got back into comics. I remember laughing at the sheer stupidity of the Liefeld' Cable drawings. No intention to put anyone down, I was 21 when I rekindled my connection with comics. I did not read a Cable book for ages. I would avoid them.

Then House of M happened and I started catching up with the mutants. And then Cable became actually interesting for the first time: protecting Hope at all costs was his best arc, so far, imho. Those Messiah books with him are surprisingly great actually. Liefeld had nothing to do with it, of course.

Oh, and if someone can explain me how is Shaft standing on that page, that'd be cool.

I'm one of those 11/12 year olds. Liefeld blew me away at the time. I gobbled up all his work. Now, I prefer his passion for the medium. I'm don't get into his work now but I do like when he has let other people run with his creations - Brandon Graham, Simon Roy, Giannis Milogiannis, Farel Dalrymple, etc on Prophet was fantastic. Alan Moore and Chris Sprouse on Supreme also fantastic. Joe Keatigne and Sophie Campbell on Glory was really good. I'm super excited for Michel Fiffe's take on Bloodstrike. Too bad Jim Shooter never got to write Youngblood as was advertised. I would have been down with seeing his take.

[WrathOfArmstrong]

I'm trying Monstress from Image, starting next week. My wife actually went and ordered these for her.
It has been a 8 year struggle to get her to read some damn comics, she tried Harbinger (she loved the Bleeding Monk #0), and some more random stuff, like East of West, but this is the first series she's really hyped for.

I've managed to get my wife to read a few. She likes Quantum and Woody and is halfway through the current VEI run. She was also a big fan of the graphic novel Persepolis and wants to read the other stuff from that author.

I've now finished the Star Wars Darth Vader series and the first six issue arc of Saga (which I found quite good). After reading Hulk: Gray, I picked up Daredevil: Yellow and am halfway through it.

The Tim Sale/Loeb collaborations are some of my all time favorite comics. Capt. America White and Spider-man: Blue are great reads too, all similar dissections of their relationships. And of course Long Halloween (favorite Batman story)/Dark Victory/Superman For all Seasons (second favorite Superman comic of all time).

Back when my wife and I first started dating she read a ton of stuff (or at least pretended to read the stuff I sent her home with...Watchmen, Sin City, Preacher, Y The Last Man...and most of the Sale/Loeb collabs). Now she might ask what I'm reading and goes about her business. I had her hooked on Fables until that Once Upon A Time show came out.

I just finished VEI alum Justin Jordan's SAVAGE THINGS - pretty fast read for supposedly being 8 issues. I haven't counted the pages, but got through it during my lunch break. Really cool idea, great pacing, action movie ready. But could've been a bitter longer.

Also read Babyteeth volume 1. There's this guy named Donny Cates--he can write.

[ShadowTuga]

I'm trying Monstress from Image, starting next week. My wife actually went and ordered these for her.
It has been a 8 year struggle to get her to read some damn comics, she tried Harbinger (she loved the Bleeding Monk #0), and some more random stuff, like East of West, but this is the first series she's really hyped for.

I've managed to get my wife to read a few. She likes Quantum and Woody and is halfway through the current VEI run. She was also a big fan of the graphic novel Persepolis and wants to read the other stuff from that author.

I've now finished the Star Wars Darth Vader series and the first six issue arc of Saga (which I found quite good). After reading Hulk: Gray, I picked up Daredevil: Yellow and am halfway through it.

The Tim Sale/Loeb collaborations are some of my all time favorite comics. Capt. America White and Spider-man: Blue are great reads too, all similar dissections of their relationships. And of course Long Halloween (favorite Batman story)/Dark Victory/Superman For all Seasons (second favorite Superman comic of all time).

Back when my wife and I first started dating she read a ton of stuff (or at least pretended to read the stuff I sent her home with...Watchmen, Sin City, Preacher, Y The Last Man...and most of the Sale/Loeb collabs). Now she might ask what I'm reading and goes about her business. I had her hooked on Fables until that Once Upon A Time show came out.

I just finished VEI alum Justin Jordan's SAVAGE THINGS - pretty fast read for supposedly being 8 issues. I haven't counted the pages, but got through it during my lunch break. Really cool idea, great pacing, action movie ready. But could've been a bitter longer.

Also read Babyteeth volume 1. There's this guy named Donny Cates--he can write.

I love everything Tim Sale Batman. I have yet to pick the Blue, Grey and Yellow HCs from the Marvel collection by Salvat, but boy they look astonishing. But Batman by the guy, I have everything- and I also have an unspoken agreement with my LCS Bat-guy who puts everything by Sale apart for me. He has been doing a lot of variants for Tom King's run, and there are some phenomenal covers there.

If you guys haven't read it, you should check Blades (with James Robinson) and The Misfits by Alan Grant. Or Date Knight by Darwyn Cooke, all beautifuly illustrated by the man.

[The Dirt Gang]

Recent reads -

Omega the Unknown - Written by Jonathan Lethem, Karl Rusnak. Illustrated by Farel Dalrymple. I've always loved Dalrymple's art and I've long been a fan of Lethem's novels. I thought this was overall pretty good. There was a bit about a living hand that was a nice riff on Evil Dead.

Dynamite's Magnus Robot Fighter - I was pleasantly surprised at the start but around issue 8 it started to go off the rails and felt rushed. I'm not really sure I fully understood the last few issues and it sort of ended disappointingly. I love Shooter's Magnus Robot Fighter and I'm always hoping someone will do it justice. Also, I missed the skirt.

Currently, reading Dakota North Investigations (Marvel '86) - This has some fantastic Tony Salmon's art. I mean check out the very first page and I love this other panel - great visual gag.

Sorry, for the extra large image. I'm still trying to figure out uploading images here.

[ShadowTuga]

Last night I finally read Multiversity. Great *SQUEE* fun, with just the right amount of 4th wall crazyness. I wanted to read the first issue only, could not put the book down. Or better, I really could not because the Multiverse would end. I saved the Multiverse, you super b-atches, you're welcome! (also I had to return it today to our library- did I ever mention that Lisboa has its own comics/BD/Manga library? http://blx.cm-lisboa.pt/gca/?id=1394
That said, this will go over many peeps' heads. One problem with Morrison's Big Events is that they are everything but new reader friendly.

If you know almost everything about the history of DC and the companies they brought into their universe, then its freaking awesome-Plus: e.g. there's a "watchmen" type of story in here with the characters Moore wanted to use (Charlton comics' Beetle, Question, Nightshade, Peacemaker, Cap Atom...); there's also a great old-school-lookin' tale with the Marvel family, and *SQUEE*, on that, "Hannibal Lecter Sivana" is one creepy baddie. The story from Earth-16 is unlike anything that DC might have done with one of the universes in the Multiverse (basically Superman made the world so secure and peacefull that boredom is the new gen of heroes' biggest nemesis). Ever thought of a world where the Damian Wayne and Chris Kent are pink press - there's literally a pink variant of the cover for this issue, lmao- darlings, much like all the "superhero" community? A world where there's a JL that fights reenactments of past battles out of boredom? And what about a character that comes to life thanks to YOU, the reader?

If not, there's a lot of confusing *SQUEE* all around- you really have to know your DC comics to enjoy it in full. I have no idea if I did.

And I never thought I'd like a comic with Captain Carrot, for real. Only Morrison could think of "cartoon physics" being a super power of sorts and be taken seriously. God bless that bald, multi-drug-experienced, head.

Tonight I'm starting the journey through Matt Wagner's Grendel, all thanks to our own Grendel(JD) who was an Awesome bud and went out of his way to send me these comics. This dude is another example of Extreme Canadian Kindness, like Hawkeye. I feel like I'm some sort of charity case for that countries' comic book fans.

[ShadowTuga]

Double post, apologies but I just had to say something about this comic I just read last night and already reread it.

I'm tempted to say that Matt Wagner's Grendel's Devil by the Deed is a game changer in my life as a comic book fan. What the hell happened in between those covers is something I could not believe it was actually feasible. This is a comic book, but its not a "comic book". Its a magnificently illustrated picture story about a wunderkid author/master criminal and a humanoid wolf mythic creature of some kind that become bitter enemies over a child who basically sends them both to their deaths in the end.
Its a world that deliberately puts the weird on your face and doesn't give two f's if you are following it. What a blast!

This is the kind of books that once in a while comes and ruins regular superhero stuff for me for a while.
I'm floored, and I can't believe it took me this much long to discover this.

JD, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for these. I can't wait to read the rest of the books, but this one alone blew me away, completely and mercilessly.

[The Dirt Gang]

Double post, apologies but I just had to say something about this comic I just read last night and already reread it.

I'm tempted to say that Matt Wagner's Grendel's Devil by the Deed is a game changer in my life as a comic book fan. What the hell happened in between those covers is something I could not believe it was actually feasible. This is a comic book, but its not a "comic book". Its a magnificently illustrated picture story about a wunderkid author/master criminal and a humanoid wolf mythic creature of some kind that become bitter enemies over a child who basically sends them both to their deaths in the end.
Its a world that deliberately puts the weird on your face and doesn't give two f's if you are following it. What a blast!

This is the kind of books that once in a while comes and ruins regular superhero stuff for me for a while.
I'm floored, and I can't believe it took me this much long to discover this.

JD, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for these. I can't wait to read the rest of the books, but this one alone blew me away, completely and mercilessly.

Grendel is something I've been meaning to check out for a long time. As a kid, I remember seeing those Grendel War Child covers and thinking out haunting and bad *SQUEE* they were. But quite honestly they scared me a bit and I never picked them up. Is there a best place to start with the Grendel books?

I've been re-reading Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. This is definitely a game changer for me and probably one of my top two desert island reads. It's got the world building and epic nature of Lord of the Rings. Highly recommended!

[ShadowTuga]

Double post, apologies but I just had to say something about this comic I just read last night and already reread it.

I'm tempted to say that Matt Wagner's Grendel's Devil by the Deed is a game changer in my life as a comic book fan. What the hell happened in between those covers is something I could not believe it was actually feasible. This is a comic book, but its not a "comic book". Its a magnificently illustrated picture story about a wunderkid author/master criminal and a humanoid wolf mythic creature of some kind that become bitter enemies over a child who basically sends them both to their deaths in the end.
Its a world that deliberately puts the weird on your face and doesn't give two f's if you are following it. What a blast!

This is the kind of books that once in a while comes and ruins regular superhero stuff for me for a while.
I'm floored, and I can't believe it took me this much long to discover this.

JD, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for these. I can't wait to read the rest of the books, but this one alone blew me away, completely and mercilessly.

Grendel is something I've been meaning to check out for a long time. As a kid, I remember seeing those Grendel War Child covers and thinking out haunting and bad *SQUEE* they were. But quite honestly they scared me a bit and I never picked them up. Is there a best place to start with the Grendel books?

I've been re-reading Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. This is definitely a game changer for me and probably one of my top two desert island reads. It's got the world building and epic nature of Lord of the Rings. Highly recommended!

Our own GrendelJD will chime in for sure and give you the basics on where to start- I'm just following his tip. But I'd bet that the collection of Omnibi is probably the best way.

https://www.amazon.com/Grendel-Omnibus- ... 1595828931

I'm setting my eyes on it, also. It looks great and very price-friendly.
On my current reads, I am halfway through Batman/Grendel and its way more cool than I hoped it would be. I like Wagner's work (I am just starting on Grendel, but I have almost all of his Batman minis and a lot of covers from the Red Hood era that I bought just because of the covers), and his style really suits Gotham.

Nausicaä is a masterpiece, both the Manga and its adaptation- both done by the same genius.
If you haven't yet seen the animated movie, I envy you. It is that freaking good. When people say to me that Anime is mostly just random violence and weird sex stuff with tentacles, I always bring Miyazaki to the conversation- the gent is imho, the greatest animated movie creator in the history of animated movies.

EDIT - Tonight alone I read part 2 of Batman/Grendel and the first 7 issues of the Comico series with Christine Spar- completely different stuff, and I enjoyed it all of it big time. The crossover was something that I'd imagine that would be set in the Gotham of Year One. Art reminds me of Mazzucchelli, just the tiny bit, and some of the pages are absolutely stoppers. When the dudes finally clash for a wee bit, that splash page and then that superbly choreographed fight sequence... Metal fingers, man!

But something is got to be said about the ongoing also- that series' visuals (by the guys who did Batman: City of Light - Pander brothers- and by one Jay Geldof) are absolutely nuts beautiful. You'd think that in 1986, comic book colors "in general" were not so good, specially on the indies; well, this book looks fantastic and the colour dept. is a Huge part of it.

Can't wait for the War Child story.

[The Dirt Gang]

Our own GrendelJD will chime in for sure and give you the basics on where to start- I'm just following his tip. But I'd bet that the collection of Omnibi is probably the best way.

https://www.amazon.com/Grendel-Omnibus- ... 1595828931

I'm setting my eyes on it, also. It looks great and very price-friendly.
On my current reads, I am halfway through Batman/Grendel and its way more cool than I hoped it would be. I like Wagner's work (I am just starting on Grendel, but I have almost all of his Batman minis and a lot of covers from the Red Hood era that I bought just because of the covers), and his style really suits Gotham.

Nausicaä is a masterpiece, both the Manga and its adaptation- both done by the same genius.
If you haven't yet seen the animated movie, I envy you. It is that freaking good. When people say to me that Anime is mostly just random violence and weird sex stuff with tentacles, I always bring Miyazaki to the conversation- the gent is imho, the greatest animated movie creator in the history of animated movies.

EDIT - Tonight alone I read part 2 of Batman/Grendel and the first 7 issues of the Comico series with Christine Spar- completely different stuff, and I enjoyed it all of it big time. The crossover was something that I'd imagine that would be set in the Gotham of Year One. Art reminds me of Mazzucchelli, just the tiny bit, and some of the pages are absolutely stoppers. When the dudes finally clash for a wee bit, that splash page and then that superbly choreographed fight sequence... Metal fingers, man!

But something is got to be said about the ongoing also- that series' visuals (by the guys who did Batman: City of Light - Pander brothers- and colored by one Jay Geldof) are absolutely nuts beautiful. You'd think that in 1986, comic book colors "in general" were not so good, specially on the indies; well, this book looks fantastic and the colour dept. is a Huge part of it.

Can't wait for the War Child story.

Thanks for the link and advice.

I've been a long time Miyazaki fan and think some of his films rank right up there with some of the best live action films. He is such a great storyteller and has such a vivid imagination. However, the GN of Nausicaa is probably my favorite thing he has done.

[grendeljd]

A couple of quick comments on the Grendel discussions for now (more later).

If you're looking to get into the series, the omnibus' are a great way to find everything in one place instead of collections the old series individually, but with one caveat: to appreciate the overall epic greatness of the series, you absolutely do not initially need to read any stories about Hunter Rose (the 1st incarnation) other than the Devil By The Deed one-shot. It's got all you need to know about him in one issue that is more of an illustrated short story with beautiful Art Deco artwork than a comic. The rest of the stuff in the omnibus about him was largely written about a decade or two after DbtD. It's good stuff, but not critical to the core of what makes this story so special.

I think it would be a bit of a slog to read the entire Hunter Rose omnibus before moving on to the next incarnations. Someone else got that omni on my recommendation & ended up not really getting into it.

The War Child story was the first Grendel story I read as a teen, and it was awesome all on its own - there were things in it that I didn't know anything about until I went back & read the Comico series, but not knowing the full history of the comic did not ruin my enjoyment of this story at all. It was just that much more rewarding when I finally did read them. And actually, if you can track down the individual issues of War Child, each one has a short written summary of each period of Grendel in each letter column that helps understand the bigger picture of it.

[grendeljd]

I should also mention that I have never looked at the omnibus collections - so I don't know much about what all is in the other 3 volumes after the Hunter Rose book. I'm sure they're worth the money to get the whole Comico/Dark Horse run though. I'd still say you should just skip reading most of the Hunter Rose stuff and go right into volume #2: Legacy.

There is a newer(ish) hardcover reprint just of Devil By The Deed that is also available on Amazon, if anyone else here is thinking of checking out Grendel this is all you need to really start in:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/15930773 ... y+the+dead" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[The Dirt Gang]

[ShadowTuga]

After reading 3 different Grendels and their own unique "flavor", yeah, now I see that one can start almost anywhere.

Read War Child in one sitting, last night, slept like 4 hours before work but it was worth it. And way beyond. Absolutely stunning comic, its like if Lone Wolf & Cub got mixed with a dystopian future setting, but it is its own thing. There's also zombies, vampires, samurai on bikes, pirates, mutants, tribesmen, you name it- the main character even has Vader's *SQUEE* lightsabre!!!!

The story is easy to follow as it gets, no need to read anything Grendel before- there's a small summary at the beginning of the book and from there, its just all-new concepts from the start. Its very new reader friendly.
The plot is very simple, but once you're finished, you might ask yourself "is this Grendel stuff actually a good thing?". Why build that huge *SQUEE* gun? Is Might the ultimate quality one can achieve?
There's also some imagery and implied violence that is not for everyone. If you don't like "real world" horror in your comics, you might be uncomfortable with some of the stuff going on. And if you have a problem with "more mature" language, be warned because there's lots of F words thrown around.

For a comic with a cyborg super warrior at the front, I really got my share of philosophical questions. That's quite the achievement in art.

And its all done with this verycool artwork, a clean, vibrant, dynamic style with (again) just the perfect coloring. I want to reread it very soon just because of the artwork. It is indeed incredible.
Also, the Simon Bisley covers alone (1-4) are amazing.

And finally, Vivat GrendelJD!

[400yrs]

Elsewhere is really good. Might be a good book to try for wives since Amelia Earhart is the lead. Jay Faerber always finds the best artists who go on to be stars and this is another solid one.

Dark Fang is pretty hilarious. It's about this cartoony vampire cam girl chick who takes on everything wrong in the world.

[WrathOfArmstrong]

just finished Dysart's UNKNOWN SOLDIER. Wow.

I just needed a breather between my re-read of the Fables series from start to finish now that Everafter is complete I'm trying to traverse all the stories based on a reading order I found online. Just a breather... that's it... I wasn't expecting to read 25 issues in a day...wow. I love Vertigo, but skipped Unknown Solider during a buying hiatus... but given my reaction to Dysart's Swamp Thing run, I don't think i would've snatched it up at the time. It is easily one of the best things the Vertigo line has ever put out, and I don't see it talked about nearly enough. Beyond the 'thoroughly researched' quips, this is just an incredible dissection of violence. There should be a deluxe omnibus of this. An Absolute Edition. Come on DC.

I just want to thank everyone on this board that praised Dysart's Harbinger... enough that I gave it a chance. I probably would've kept steering clear of this masterpiece if I hadn't been transformed into a fan through his Valiant work.

anyway... back to Fabletown...

[nwoslave]

my current and upcoming list. ill be dropping a few and some are ending.
xo
evolution (image)
wildstorm
bloodshot
robotech
pardiso (image)
monstress
aquaman
daredevil
quantum & woody
dr strange
ninjak
iron fist
michael cray
thanos
doomsday clock
darth vader
deja thoris
star wars
batman white knight
barbarella
mera
brave & bold
vs (image)
shadowman
mr miricle
ninjak vs
monstro mechanica
avengers no surrender



upcoming additions:
the dead hand
swords of the swashbucklers
her infernal decent
season of the snake
forever war: forever free
xerxes

[Brother Darque]

Picked up 3 of the new DC titles spinning out of Dark Nights Metal.

All are pretty good.

[ShadowTuga]

Picked up 3 of the new DC titles spinning out of Dark Nights Metal.

All are pretty good.

Did not know you were such a Marvel fan, Darque.

I went to my library today in order to return the 2 first Grendel Omnibus (I actually only read the book ends for the 2nd- I'll come back to Hunter Rose later) and honestly, it took all my willforce to NOT bring the 3rd volume (it has the final 20 issues of the series) but I succeeded. I really want to read the rest in singles.

But anyway, I went there but not before I checked that "favourite comic storylines" thread, that I remembered having a quite good chunk of suggestions for reading. I trust GrendelJD's taste in comics like I trusted my Heavy Metal Mentor back in the day.

So, ya, brought Planetary's shiny new Omni.
Will take my day off (tomorrow) to try this. Looks weirdly intriguing. And beautiful, damn Cassaday is a deadline nightmare but *SQUEE*, he delivers.

[chriskay99]

I blew through the first three hardcovers of Matt Kindt's Dept. H in a few days. I really enjoyed this one and am eager to see how it concludes!

[The Dirt Gang]

just finished Dysart's UNKNOWN SOLDIER. Wow.

I just needed a breather between my re-read of the Fables series from start to finish now that Everafter is complete I'm trying to traverse all the stories based on a reading order I found online. Just a breather... that's it... I wasn't expecting to read 25 issues in a day...wow. I love Vertigo, but skipped Unknown Solider during a buying hiatus... but given my reaction to Dysart's Swamp Thing run, I don't think i would've snatched it up at the time. It is easily one of the best things the Vertigo line has ever put out, and I don't see it talked about nearly enough. Beyond the 'thoroughly researched' quips, this is just an incredible dissection of violence. There should be a deluxe omnibus of this. An Absolute Edition. Come on DC.

I just want to thank everyone on this board that praised Dysart's Harbinger... enough that I gave it a chance. I probably would've kept steering clear of this masterpiece if I hadn't been transformed into a fan through his Valiant work.

anyway... back to Fabletown...

Yeah. I feel Dysart's Unknown Soldier run is really underrated. That issue about the AK47 is one of the all time great single issues.

[grendeljd]

I went to my library today in order to return the 2 first Grendel Omnibus (I actually only read the book ends for the 2nd- I'll come back to Hunter Rose later) and honestly, it took all my willforce to NOT bring the 3rd volume (it has the final 20 issues of the series) but I succeeded. I really want to read the rest in singles.

But anyway, I went there but not before I checked that "favourite comic storylines" thread, that I remembered having a quite good chunk of suggestions for reading. I trust GrendelJD's taste in comics like I trusted my Heavy Metal Mentor back in the day.

So, ya, brought Planetary's shiny new Omni.
Will take my day off (tomorrow) to try this. Looks weirdly intriguing. And beautiful, damn Cassaday is a deadline nightmare but *SQUEE*, he delivers.

Dude... I think you're gonna love Planetary too!! Glad you're checking it out while waiting for the rest of Grendel

I think you'll get all the 20th century pop culture references that make this series so damn good.

[ShadowTuga]

I went to my library today in order to return the 2 first Grendel Omnibus (I actually only read the book ends for the 2nd- I'll come back to Hunter Rose later) and honestly, it took all my willforce to NOT bring the 3rd volume (it has the final 20 issues of the series) but I succeeded. I really want to read the rest in singles.

But anyway, I went there but not before I checked that "favourite comic storylines" thread, that I remembered having a quite good chunk of suggestions for reading. I trust GrendelJD's taste in comics like I trusted my Heavy Metal Mentor back in the day.

So, ya, brought Planetary's shiny new Omni.
Will take my day off (tomorrow) to try this. Looks weirdly intriguing. And beautiful, damn Cassaday is a deadline nightmare but *SQUEE*, he delivers.

Dude... I think you're gonna love Planetary too!! Glad you're checking it out while waiting for the rest of Grendel

I think you'll get all the 20th century pop culture references that make this series so damn good.

I'm at issue 6, as of now. Real different from Grendel but so far I've enjoyed this a lot.
As for the refs, yeah, there's a Shadow guy, a Doc Savage, and that scene with Swamp Thing and Ivy sharing the same body, surrounded by the Metal Men, Nightshade and... Animal Man? Lots of easter eggs, real fun to catch these.

[grendeljd]

I went to my library today in order to return the 2 first Grendel Omnibus (I actually only read the book ends for the 2nd- I'll come back to Hunter Rose later) and honestly, it took all my willforce to NOT bring the 3rd volume (it has the final 20 issues of the series) but I succeeded. I really want to read the rest in singles.

But anyway, I went there but not before I checked that "favourite comic storylines" thread, that I remembered having a quite good chunk of suggestions for reading. I trust GrendelJD's taste in comics like I trusted my Heavy Metal Mentor back in the day.

So, ya, brought Planetary's shiny new Omni.
Will take my day off (tomorrow) to try this. Looks weirdly intriguing. And beautiful, damn Cassaday is a deadline nightmare but *SQUEE*, he delivers.

Dude... I think you're gonna love Planetary too!! Glad you're checking it out while waiting for the rest of Grendel

I think you'll get all the 20th century pop culture references that make this series so damn good.

I'm at issue 6, as of now. Real different from Grendel but so far I've enjoyed this a lot.
As for the refs, yeah, there's a Shadow guy, a Doc Savage, and that scene with Swamp Thing and Ivy sharing the same body, surrounded by the Metal Men, Nightshade and... Animal Man? Lots of easter eggs, real fun to catch these.

It continues to escalate from there.

There's a meta-level theme to the whole thing that I love; I think it's meant to feel like the story is set in our own boring real world, with the idea that all of our key modern pop culture & fictional heroes were based on something that actually existed, but were then deliberately hidden & exploited or destroyed. And all we have left are these fictional tales that no one would ever think was real.

Hope you continue to enjoy the ride. Warren Ellis, man - love his writing when he's on point. And Cassaday nailed the art through the entire run. A real gem of a comic from a time when comics in general nearly died (late 90's) but rose from the ashes (early 2000's).

Also, while some may seem a little dated now in their graphic design, I *loved* the covers for each issue. How not one of them was the same in terms of logos or graphic design or artistic style, but all were nods to a specific design period or popular image.

[grendeljd]

A few new books I've tried out from various publishers in recent months;

Backways #1
Brilliant Trash #1

Cyber Force #1
Gideon Falls #1
Oblivion Song #1

Johnny Blaze: Ghost Rider 1-shot
New Mutants: Dead souls #1